Chapter 388: Melodramatic Plot

Gensokyo... this name again. Li Yu's eyes moved slightly, he had heard this name from Hunter's mouth.

The reason why the [Augu] fleet was reduced to the point of being disbanded, as well as the death of General Augustus, was related to this so-called "Gensokyo".

When he first heard this name, Li Yu even felt a sense of confusion, thinking it was something from his past life.

But actually, the so-called "Gensokyo" was just a translation issue in the Interstellar Common Language.

Different civilizations had different names for it.

However, what exactly "Gensokyo" was, he didn't know, because Hunter wasn't very willing to mention this past.

"What do you want to find that thing for? Do you not know how you ended up like this?" Hunter's expression changed, his tone unfriendly.

"Precisely because of this, I must find it!" Barton showed no weakness: "A single mistaken thought of Augustus caused the massive fleet to fall apart, all Captains were exiled, and the fate of our families was even more miserable!"

"This is all because of his own selfish desires, yet you idiots still followed him without hesitation, not considering the consequences of the matter at all."

Hunter's expression became ugly. However, facing the aggressive Barton, he was powerless to refute.

When the passion faded and the bloody reality was placed in front of him, Hunter also knew what kind of consequences Augustus's single mistaken thought caused back then.

However, right and wrong could not be clearly explained in a single sentence.

Hunter sneered, turning around to say: "You don't need to speak so impassionedly, I seem to remember your parents were killed by Marauders long ago, where did you get a family?"

Barton was slightly silent, his tone suddenly softening, "Your memory is pretty good."

All for profit. Barton's motives weren't pure either, using various rhetoric to attack Hunter's heart.

And Hunter didn't want to dig up the Old Matter again, simply saying directly: "Don't speak nonsense, I need to know The Whole Story of Ramon being captured."

"...Ramon was carrying crucial intelligence. That was something we went through untold hardships to obtain... Three days ago..."

Barton roughly introduced the matter. It was a very conventional intelligence transport job, and the disguise in all aspects was perfect.

But somehow the news leaked, and he was captured by Returning Star's field agents.

"You should know General Augustus didn't want that place to be discovered." Hunter frowned.

Barton sneered: "He is your general, not my general."

"For a special place like that, many factions have specialized departments researching it. Augustus could delay for a moment, but not a lifetime."

"Are you going to help with this or not!"

Hunter didn't answer immediately, shaking his head: "I can't command Li Yu, only he can decide whether to help or not."

Barton continued: "That group of people who captured him don't know what intelligence Ramon is carrying. For Li Yu, a single phone call can resolve it."

"Can you really not do it?"

Since Hunter already knew the specific process of the matter, he was too lazy to talk nonsense with him: "If he agrees, I will contact you later."

But Barton didn't say goodbye, instead continuing: "We served together at least, are you not even willing to speak a few more words with an Old Friend?"

"I still need to develop my Gene Chain, I don't have time." Hunter said perfunctorily.

"Develop your Gene Chain?" Barton's voice abruptly raised several pitches: "Weren't your Gene Chains extracted, how..."

Halfway through his words, he suddenly stopped. Beeping sounds came from the Smart Terminal, as if he was searching for something.

"...It's Li Yu right? Some time ago, The Reformers snatched Amethyst's Gene Optimization Device, but at the last moment something went wrong and it was snatched away by an unknown person."

"According to the intelligence from the Star Glory Empire side, it should be Li Yu's doing."

Barton's tone suddenly became strange, slightly melancholic: "The Gene Optimization Device, that's a technological equipment only Augustus had the qualifications to use."

"Your luck, is truly good..."

"You still have contact with the Star Glory Empire?" Hunter keenly caught the information in Barton's words.

Barton didn't answer this question, but instead used a deep tone: "Did you know? Ramon underwent Mechanical Modification. He used to hate Mechanical Cyborgs the most, thinking they were no longer considered human."

"I really envy you, highly regarded by Augustus when in [Augu], and even able to meet someone like Li Yu after being exiled..."

Hunter felt irritated listening to this and directly hung up the communication, yellowed memories churning in his mind.

Ramon indeed hated Mechanical Cyborgs, thinking they didn't even have "that thing", so what was the point of living?

But he himself had now undergone Mechanical Modification. Their Genetic Structure was damaged, unable to walk the Genetic Evolutionary Path, only able to become stronger through Mechanical Modification.

His expression changed, various thoughts surging in his heart. He knew Barton just wanted him to have this kind of mentality, to achieve his goal.

"What exactly is Gensokyo?" Li Yu asked somewhat curiously.

Hunter glanced at Li Yu, walking to the Metal Seat somewhat tiredly, letting out a deep sigh, sitting down and speaking softly:

"Gensokyo, scientific name––Semi-Dimensional World Where Void and Reality Intertwine. It existed in the Titan era, and its entrance appears irregularly in various corners of the Universe."

"Most of the time, it's in uninhabited places, only in very rare cases is it observed. Since the establishment of the Star Glory Empire, the number of times it has been artificially observed can be counted on one's fingers."

Li Yu looked thoughtful, continuing to ask: "What's magical about it? Are there treasures inside?"

"It can be artificially controlled..." Hunter spat out a sentence:

"According to some records flipped out by the Star Glory Empire, Gensokyo was once controlled by the Titans, used as a mobile Base, research institute, armory, and even an Interstellar Fortress."

"Living creatures can survive inside, and lifeforms exist within."

Li Yu's interest was piqued, so it's a portable world, sounds pretty good.

In Interstellar space, time and distance were insurmountable barriers. If he could have such a portable world, it could save a lot of trouble.

"This is only one of its uses. The Star Glory Empire speculated there should be other uses." Hunter added.

"Then what happened with Augustus?" Li Yu asked this key question.

This time Hunter didn't refuse to answer. His eyes gradually became deep, seemingly recalling something.

And listening to Hunter's narration, Li Yu's expression became increasingly strange.

This wasn't a complicated story. The general outline was that Augustus was ambushed in a certain Interstellar battle, his Main Ship destroyed, and he himself heavily injured.

Forced to leave in an escape pod, he accidentally entered Gensokyo.

He didn't know what place that was, but just like in most Clichéd Sci-Fi Romance, he encountered a beautiful and glamorous young girl.

Under the other party's careful care, Augustus's injuries gradually recovered, and this battle-tested general was also moved by the other party's gentleness and consideration.

However, as an outsider, he couldn't stay in Gensokyo for too long. After leaving, he contacted his fleet immediately.

And under the Star Glory Empire's questioning, he reported his experiences during this period.

The Star Glory Empire instantly understood that was Gensokyo, and ordered Augustus to open fire on it.

Because the entrance to Gensokyo wouldn't last long, they could only shake its Space Anchor through high-energy attacks, forcibly keeping it in place.

To wait for the arrival of higher-tier lifeforms of the Star Glory Empire.

Because of the life-saving grace plus an old tree blossoming anew, Augustus hesitated, and finally even refused the order to open fire, leading to the subsequent series of events.

"This story, indeed exceeded my expectations..." Li Yu didn't know how to describe his mood, "I originally thought it should be more magnificent."

"How could there be so many magnificent stories, it's all Melodramatic plots..." Hunter smiled bitterly and shook his head.

However, at that time he was young and aggressive, thinking the general's state of Rage for Love was more heroic.

He also didn't expect the Empire's wrath to be so terrifying. It wasn't until a long time later that he thought more about the events of the past.

"Indeed..." Li Yu gave him a thumbs up for this sentence, his tone lazy, saying casually: "Do you want me to find someone to ask about that Ramon guy."

Hunter's lips tightened, looking at Li Yu with a complex expression, making Li Yu break out in goosebumps all over, saying crossly:

"Don't look at me with that kind of gaze, I'm just quite curious about Gensokyo."

Hunter said helplessly: "I knew you would definitely be interested. Letting you find it is better than letting others find it."

The corners of Li Yu's mouth split open, "The way you say it, it's as if Gensokyo is A Sure Thing for me."

"As long as it's something you want, I've never seen you fail." Hunter flattered a little.

"I love hearing this..." Li Yu chuckled lightly: "Claptrap, contact Klein."

"Okay, Master."

............

A gloomy environment, a foul stench. It was extremely silent here, only the occasional sound of dripping water echoing beside Ramon's ears.

Ramon opened his dim eyes. Due to a lack of Energy to maintain it, his visual signals were intermittent, he fundamentally couldn't see everything in front of him clearly.

Rumble–

Along with a muffled friction sound, faint radiance shone on the ground, then quickly disappeared again.

Leather boots entered his line of sight, and he was hauled up entirely, that familiar voice ringing in his ears:

"Have you thought it through? Are you still going to hold out? What exactly does that string of time represent!"

Ramon's eyes were blurry. Most of the mechanical structures on his body had been removed, leaving only the critical equipment to maintain his Vital Signs.

He opened his mouth, revealing a silent mockery. This bit of torture was nothing to him. His only regret was not sending the item out.

Bang!

Seeing this guy Unyielding, Nie Shu's expression instantly became incredibly ugly. He knew the other party's background, having served in [Augu] and undergone various training, he wouldn't easily loosen his tongue.

"Continue, open his neural interface and connect the 'torture' program!" His voice was icy cold.

Ramon on the ground couldn't help but tremble in his heart hearing his words.

Connecting a special program through the neural interface to simulate various extremely cruel tortures, this was a torture method specifically targeting Mechanical Cyborgs.

However, this kind of method easily damaged their brains, causing dementia, thus losing questioning value.

So basically it wouldn't be used until the last moment.

It's about to end... Ramon sighed in his heart, various thoughts surging up: the passionate naivety when he joined the army, the High-Spirited demeanor when he was promoted to Captain, the destitution when he was exiled.

"Boss, won't it be too early? He is our only source of information right now." A subordinate advised.

Nie Shu shook his head: "Continuing the stalemate is useless. He has received professional training, ordinary interrogation techniques are fundamentally useless against him."

"Yes..."

Hearing this, his subordinates could only go prepare the subsequent methods.

However, right at this moment, someone walked over hurriedly, whispering: "Boss, the supervisor is looking for you..."

Nie Shu froze slightly, somewhat puzzled. Why would the supervisor suddenly look for him, the mission wasn't even completed yet?

He glanced at Ramon on the ground, hesitated for a moment, and still turned to leave.

In a specially made room, heavily encrypted Communication Equipment had already been turned on. On the black screen, there was only a white line undulating.

"Supervisor..." Nie Shu took the initiative to speak, indicating he had arrived.

"Nie Shu, is Ramon Carrul in your hands?" The supervisor's voice sounded somewhat hurried.

Nie Shu's pupils dilated. After capturing Ramon, he hadn't reported it yet.

Under normal circumstances, one would only report after the mission succeeded or failed.

And Ramon's mission was still ongoing, no need to report temporarily.

And since he didn't report, how did the supervisor know? And why did his voice sound so hurried?

Nie Shu pondered for a moment, then spoke: "Four days ago, I did indeed capture Ramon. He is currently under interrogation. I'm preparing to use the 'torture' program to pry the true meaning of that intelligence from his mouth..."

"Stop all interrogation methods!"

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the anxious supervisor.

"What!?" Nie Shu was somewhat astonished, still not reacting.

The supervisor's voice abruptly raised several pitches: "Can you not understand my words? I told you to stop all interrogation methods, restore him to his original state, and bring him to me safely!"

"But, supervisor..." Nie Shu was dumbfounded, "Didn't the mission say he was carrying extremely important unknown intelligence? Many people are secretly looking for him."

The supervisor didn't explain much: "Don't talk nonsense, the previous mission is canceled. Bring Ramon over, remember to be respectful, and also... you guys can also retreat from that Lie Dormant location."

Nie Shu's pupils shrank. In order to send Ramon back as soon as possible, higher-ups actually didn't hesitate to abandon the Lie Dormant location they had operated for so long and let them return.

What exactly happened?

If it was just to transfer a prisoner, there was no need for him to restore Ramon to his original state.

And actually telling him to be respectful, was Ramon the prisoner, or was he the prisoner?

"Supervisor, what exactly is going on!" Nie Shu shouted coldly.

The supervisor hesitated for a moment. Knowing that if he didn't explain clearly, Nie Shu would probably have a hard time handling this matter well, he could only grit his teeth and say: "A Major Cosmic Figure wants to protect him, a Major Cosmic Figure that neither you nor I can contend against!"

Nie Shu took a deep breath, suddenly feeling it was somewhat absurd.

But the supervisor didn't give him a chance to continue asking, directly hanging up the communication.

(End of this chapter)